Se Asian Restaurants

[the dude]

BEN THANH RESTAURANT [B&T], 115 PARK ST. N.



one of my favourite restaurants in the hammer…but what is it? is it vietnamese? not really. is it thai? not really. is it chinese? again, not really. in actuality, it’s a combination of all three. the owners are ethnic chinese from vietnam, so that explains two of the influences. as for the thai element, well, who doesn’t like thai food?

in fairly typical fashion, the menu is massive. you should bring either a gps or someone of se asian origin with you. i generally favour the latter. once you’ve navigated the one hundred or so items on the menu it’s smooth sailing from there. the food is the bomb but don’t expect perfect service. that’s not what this experience is about. your waiter is unlikely to speak to you [unless you speak cantonese] and you’re unlikely to receive your meals at the same time. i’ve sat through an entire meal watching other people eat before getting mine. but hey, it’s a minor irritant with such tasty fare. i’d recommend the pho [viet beef noodle soup] or the hot and sour soup. throw in a durian shake and you’re laughin’. two can dine for less than $25 without any difficulty. so, it’s not the best viet restaurant, nor is it the best thai restaurant but it works for me. check it out.

[raisethehammer]

this is hands down my favourite restaurant in the Hammer.
My wife and I eat here way too much!

[the dude]

NGUYEN HONG, 64 CANNON ST. W.



as far as i can tell, this is hamilton’s only vietnamese sandwich eatery. along with coffee, crepes and cake, banh mi is a culinary remnant of france’s colonization of vietnam. for those of you who are unfamiliar with this gastronomic delight, banh mi [literally bread in viet] typically consists of a combination of vietnamese coldcuts, a variety of pickled veggies [carrots+dichon], pate, viet-style mayo served on a baguette. vegetarian options are sometimes available using tofu instead of meat.

for those of you who have frequented the banh mi joints on spadina, nguyen hong might be a disappointment. it doesn’t offer the sort of variety one might expect and, in my opinion, the quality isn’t quite there either. that said, the price is right. most sandwiches can be had for less than $2. that’s good value, people. i’m hoping to see some improvements to the viet sandwich scene in hamilton but this is good enough for now. check it out.

[AndyLHoang]

I like Crystal Dynasty at 94 Cannon St. W for a Chinese dinner, Dim Sum Restaurant at 1 Wilson St. for some dim sum lunch and Saigon Asian in Westdale at 1024 King St. W for some pho because it's walking distance from MAC.

[the dude]

^crystal dynasty's definitely a good joint. i've just created a chinese restaurant thread, so feel free to do a review for any of the places you've been to.

[SteelTown]

I love Thai food as they have tons of vegetarian items. I live up on the Mountain so I go to this place called Lemon Grass on Garth St near the Linc, it's at the new giant Shoppers. It's a really great restaurant and always busy. It's been around for probably three years now.

If you go try the fried banana and ice cream for dessert, god it's so good!

Here's their website with the menu

http://www.lemongrassrestaurant.ca/

If you go you won't be disappointed.

[NorthEndRules]

Lemongrass is great. Try the sample platter and the pho. Pricey but good. Nothing better for miles around

[the dude]

^yep, only heard good things about lemongrass. they must be doing a good business up there in that stripmall.

[raisethehammer]

yup, lemongrass is good...used to be the only one on the mountain.
now my family tells me there's one on stonechurch/upp ottawa somewhere??

downtown is where it's at though for asian grub...killer options.
anyone tried the new Thai Memory on King William? I'm going soon...heard nothing but great reviews.

[block43]

Thai Memory is really good. More authentic than the other thai places.

[raisethehammer]

I was at B&T the other night...nice little reno they did. the chairs are WAY more comfortable.
Hope they don't make it too yuppy-ish, but so far its' a nice clean reno job.

[the dude]

ya, and i heard they raised the prices too. i'll have to check it out soon.

[rousseau]

B&T is a chain now, but quality varies wildly between cities. I think that the one in Hamilton was the first. Here's the lowdown on where I've eaten:

B&T Hamilton: Uses way too much MSG, I always get the MSG headache whenever we're in town and we eat there. Which we don't do anymore. Avoid it like the plague.

B&T Guelph: Tasty enough during one visit. Very fancy reno.

B&T Cambridge (on Hespeler): The best of them all, also with a new reno. Food is consistently excellent. They also offer the "single serving" smaller bowl of soup for $2.99, which, if you're southeast Asian, is typically what you would have with your entree instead of a beverage. Meaning, this place is perfect.

B&T London downtown: Awful. Food is often microwaved and/or stale. Doesn't taste good. Mentioned this on our last visit, when my wife didn't finish her meal. The server and owner both gave us the Asian silent treatment, which means "we saw nothing, we will deny everything, now go away." In that respect it's authentic, I guess.

B&T London south suburban area: Passable. Been there once.